Greater Malabar Initiative To Promote Local Innovation For Local Problems

Sustainability Next|July 2017

Kappad, 12 kilometers from Kozhikode a quiet place that witnessed the historical event that changed the history of India forever - the place Vasco Da Gama landed in 1498.

Naga Prakasam

It was a mixed feeling visiting there on the way back from Areacode (yes, it’s how Ariakode is pronounced) an hour from Kozhikode with entrepreneur Shamil.

It was very sad to hear during my last visit to Kannur that the tender coconut is coming from Karnataka, since harvesting coconut is not economically viable as the daily wages have gone up. Around ₹800 /day daily wages in Kerala is reaching developed state status! This provides great opportunities for entrepreneurs to bring technology to address this, as farmers are giving up on coconut. Shamil Salam, a mechanical engineer, the founder of Kenzon from Areacode, has done exactly that. With his brother, they have designed a simple coconut tree climbing machine, which improves productivity as well as enables anyone to climb and harvest coconut.

He has sold over 300 units so far. The design is very simple and affordable at ₹2800 a piece, and is easy to carry. The brothers are also designing similar machine for climbing are canut trees.

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